Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Medalists

Each June, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Centennial Medal, first awarded in 1989 on the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of the...

Each June, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Centennial Medal, first awarded in 1989 on the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of the school’s founding, honors alumni who have made contributions to society that emerged from their graduate study at Harvard. This year’s honorands are, from left, Nobel Prize-winner and former Faculty of Arts and Sciences dean A. Michael Spence, Ph.D. ’72, a leader in both economics and higher-education administration; MIT professor Michael Artin, Ph.D. ’60, an architect of the modern approach to algebraic geometry; Elaine H. Pagels, Ph.D. ’70, an expert on the origins of Christianity; and Nobel Prize-winner H. Robert Horvitz, Ph.D. ’74, a molecular biologist who has done foundational work in the study of cell apoptosis. 

Photograph by Jim Harrison

Most popular

The Loneliness Pandemic

As the country isolates, are we all alone?

As Union Protests Continue, Stephen Colbert and Yo-Yo Ma Event at Harvard Cut Short

A conversation between the comedian and the celebrated cellist was interrupted by a fire alarm in Sanders Theatre.

Naval architect William Francis Gibbs, designer of the SS United States

Brief life of America’s greatest naval architect: 1886-1967

Explore More From Current Issue

A girl in blue boots stands on a cliff, holding a leash attached to a glowing, digital dog.

Establishing legal responsibility for autonomous agents

Collage of book covers featuring various titles on a vibrant orange background.

These newly released novels, histories, and memoirs grapple with identity in all its forms.

A man with a long beard and formal attire stands next to a chalkboard with an equation.

Two tales of University greats—and an encounter with a Tiger